The Moji-mandala Gohonzon, or the 'Mandala Gohonzon', is the primary object of devotion in Nichiren Shu and some other Nichiren schools, and the exclusive object of veneration in the Nichiren Shi shu branch and formerly affiliated groups such as Si ka Gakkai. Nichiren (February 16, 1222 October 13, 1282) was a Buddhist monk who lived during the Kamakura period (1185-1333) in Japan. Nichiren taught devotion to the Lotus Sutra, entitled Myoho-Renge-Kyo in Japanese, as the exclusive means to attain enlightenment and the chanting of Namu-Myoho-Renge-Kyo as the essential practice of the teaching. Various schools with diverging interpretations of Nichiren's teachings comprise Nichiren Buddhism.